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The goalkeeper emerged as a shock target for the Gunners last week, with Mikel Arteta moving quickly to ensure that the transfer is confirmed before the start of the Premier League season this weekend.
On Tuesday, it was reported that the deal was done as Arsenal and Brentford had agreed a £30million fee for the Spaniard who has one year remaining on his contract.
And with Matt Turner completing his move to Nottingham Forest on Wednesday, it seemed as if it would be just a matter of time before Raya was unveiled at the Emirates.
However, there has been one final twist in the tale, with The Athletic claiming that the 27-year-old will actually be moving across London on loan for an initial fee of just £3m.
Included in the deal will be an option – not an obligation – to buy for £27m, meaning there is the possibility that the keeper may not be hanging around the Emirates for too long.
Before the move is confirmed, the Bees will extend his contract by a year to ensure that he can’t leave on a free next summer, with Raya set to have his medical on Thursday.
It is also said that Bayern Munich had also been looking to do a similar deal for the player, but he always preferred Arsenal so he could reunite with former Brentford goalkeeping coach Inaki Cana.
This is all a very clever move on behalf of sporting director Edu, given that the Gunners have already spent over £200m this summer on transfers and were therefore somewhat limited in what more they could buy.
Arteta has signed Declan Rice, Kai Haverz and Jurrien Timber, but selling players has proved tricky, with Granit Xhaka’s £21m move to Bayer Leverkusen their only significant outgoing.
The move for Raya has also divided opinion with some questioning why such a prominent keeper needed to be signed when Aaron Ramsdale has been performing well, though some believe the England star needs to have strong competition.
‘The things that caused them a problem were minor details in the last 10 games [of last season], but Ramsdale was one of those issues in those last 10 games,’ Gary Neville said.
‘He was erratic and you can’t have that with a keeper with 10 games to go. You can’t have an erratic goalkeeper.’
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